Biography

American film producer, director, screenwriter and actor, who produced and directed hugely successful comedies in the '80s and '90s that included "Airplane," 1980, "The Naked Gun: From the File of Police Squad," 1988 and "The Naked Gun 2-l/2: The Smell of Fear," 1991.

Dave grew up in the Milwaukee suburb of Shorewood, where he and his brother and later production partner Jerry read "Mad" magazine with their sister Susan. His mother Charlotte was a junior high school teacher and dad Burton a real estate developer. He and brother Jerry enrolled in film courses at the University of Wisconsin in Madison where they produced, among other things, a parody of "Midnight Cowboy" titled "12:05 Cowboy."

In 1971, the two founded the Kentucky Fried Theater with their friend Jim Abrahams, which mixed videotaped parodies and live skits. They played in Madison for a year, then went to standing-room-only crowds in Los Angeles for five years. In 1977, they put their material into the John Landis directed "Kentucky Fried Movie." With the exception of 1984's "Top Secret," their films were big hits at the box office, but after "Ruthless People," 1986, the brothers dissolved the trio with Abrahams and amicably parted, each one going off on his own.

Zucker shares his 20-acre ranch in Ojai, Calif. with film producer Jolie Chain. He credits Chain with making him more environmentally-concerned.